Wine Tasting in Walla Walla

If you saw Saturday’s weekly recap post, then you know I spent Thursday of last week in Walla Walla, Washington! Walla Walla is a small town, but it has lots of charm and has become a growing tourist destination due to all its wineries. It turned out to be the perfect lil’ stop for an impromptu family reunion with extended family that I haven’t seen in ages. Plus, the second my dad told me there was even the *slightest* chance of going to a winery, I immediately started trying on different outfits! Keep reading to hear what we did, where we stayed, and arguably most important, what I wore.

Walla Walla is about a four hour drive from where I live, so we left early in the morning and rolled into town around lunch time. We met up with my aunt and uncle, my grandpa, my other aunt and her boyfriend, and my cousin at a soup and sandwich café called Stone Soup. The inside was bleh and not the cute atmosphere for which I was hoping. However, the food was decent (they had gluten-free bread, yay!) and we all sat outside on their patio, which was much more enjoyable than the dingy inside.

After eating and catching up for a bit, our big group started walking around downtown and window shopping. There were so many cute stores! I didn’t get a chance to check them all out, but Out West Trading Co had some really cute Walla Walla sweatshirts and t-shirts. If I didn’t already have so many clothes, I would have loved to purchase one of their unique designs as a souvenir.

We also wandered in to Dolivo Olive Oil Tasting Bar, where we probably spent half an hour taste testing various flavors of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It sounds like a strange thing to do, but it was so delicious! They had so many amazing flavors, as well as cool kitchenware, unique baking ingredients, various pickled foods in jars, etc. We ended up buying a couple oils for my mom, and I can’t wait to see (or should I say, taste?) what she makes with them.

After filling ourselves with olive oil, we crossed the street to check out Browne Wine Room, where we ended up ordering a flight of red wine and sharing it (see below). I don’t really know anything about wine, but I do know I prefer red over white. We had a fun time sipping and chatting, and I even got to practice my Spanish with my grandpa, who is Puerto Rican. I was very rusty…

I didn’t really know the difference between a winery and a tasting room, but after having spent some time here, I realized I would definitely prefer a winery—I originally envisioned this outfit in some beautiful setting as I frolicked through grapevines in my floppy hat. The outfit didn’t quite fit the vibes at this tasting room.

We decided to get some ice cream at Pine Cone Creamery (it was extra creamy and delicious) before we finally made it to a real winery. (And yes, basically all we did today was eat and drink.) There were several vineyards on the road that our VRBO was on, and thankfully the Kinhaven Winery and Vineyard accepted our big group without a reservation. We were the only ones there, the service was great, and the views were incredible. See, doesn’t the picture of me in the vineyard below fit the vibe of the outfit much better?!

We got to try five wines here, and the cool part was that our hostess (is that the right word?) was super knowledgeable about all the wines and told us interesting facts about how they’re made and the origins of the grapes. Of course, I had to grab a few photos before we left!

Our group of nine rented out a property called the Lasater Ranch through VRBO. I believe the house could sleep ten people, and it had all sorts of old mansion charm—laundry chutes in the walls, old creaky furniture, pictures of creepy people from the 1800s, a locked basement and attic, you know the vibes. It very easily could have turned into a horror movie-type house. But jokes aside, it was a lovely place to stay on a very pretty piece of land, complete with a pond, huge trees, a beautiful horse, and an odd assortment of very large ducks/geese. We ended up ordering pizza from a local place and eating it outside by the pond.

After dinner, we played Cards Against Humanity… I have played a lot of Cards Against Humanity, but I’ve never played with my own family before. You can imagine the awkwardness… But boy, was it fun. I haven’t laughed so hard in ages! The best part was my grandpa feeling so sheepish and ashamed when he had to read the cards out loud (and his thick Spanish accent made it that much funnier). We stayed up too late and had the absolute best time.

And lastly… what you’ve all been waiting for… the outfit. I immediately knew I wanted to wear this romper to the winery—it just felt like the right choice, and the second I tried on this hand-me-down floppy hat, I knew the two pieces were meant to be together. What I didn’t know was that this romper shrunk the first time I washed it… It was already short to being with, but now, it is extremely short. By far the shortest thing I have ever worn, and I knew if I bent over, someone would get an eye-full. As much as I love this outfit, I felt extremely self-conscious in it all day. For one, I was worried about flashing someone, and two, the feature I am most insecure about is my thighs, both of which are on full display in this look. I kept trying to remind myself throughout the day to just stand tall and rock it! But I have to admit, unless I start working out like crazy, I’m not sure I’ll be wearing this romper again…

But hey, at least the thin yellow stripes paired perfectly with my sandals, as did this pink leather purse. Maybe I can use what little sewing skills I have to turn this romper into a tunic? We shall see.

Even though I felt self-conscious in this outfit, I still think it is absolutely adorable. Some woman even stopped me on the street to tell me how cute my outfit was. She, however, was wearing booty shorts that had a winky face across her butt, so I’m not sure I would want to trust her judgment about the length of this romper, lol!

Walla Walla was a blast, but even more so, I am so grateful to have been able to spend such quality time with family, all together in the same house. It was such a great first wine tasting experience.

As always, thanks for reading!

-Grace

Striped Romper: Francesca’s, $15 | Floppy Hat: Hand-me-down, last worn here | Yellow Sandals: DSW, $20, last worn here | Pink Purse: Gift, last worn here